Evidence mapPaperPMID 42358678Full record

ArticleFrontiers in endocrinology2026

Early proteomic and metabolomic signatures in diabetes associated with progression to diabetic retinopathy over 1-2 years.

Jing Zhao, Yitao Cao, Zhi Chai, Hanghang Xie, Dandan Gu, Yanchun Zhang, Dongling Niu, Hongli Liu, Ting Lei

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Article in Frontiers in endocrinology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Jing Zhao *Clinical Laboratory Center, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Xi'an People's Hospital (Xi'an Fourth Hospital), Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Yitao Cao *Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Zhi ChaiClinical Laboratory Center, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Xi'an People's Hospital (Xi'an Fourth Hospital), Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Hanghang XieClinical Laboratory Center, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Xi'an People's Hospital (Xi'an Fourth Hospital), Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Dandan GuSchool of Medicine, Northwest University, Xi'an, China.
Yanchun ZhangShaanxi Eye Hospital, Xi'an People's Hospital (Xi'an Fourth Hospital), Xi'an, China.
Dongling NiuClinical Laboratory Center, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Xi'an People's Hospital (Xi'an Fourth Hospital), Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Hongli LiuClinical Laboratory Center, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Xi'an People's Hospital (Xi'an Fourth Hospital), Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Ting LeiClinical Laboratory Center, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Xi'an People's Hospital (Xi'an Fourth Hospital), Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: The progression from diabetes mellitus (DM) to diabetic retinopathy (DR) represents a dynamic pathological process in which vascular and metabolic alterations gradually lead to retinal damage. Understanding the molecular changes during this transition is critical for timely identification and intervention. Methods: We performed DIA-based proteomics and untargeted metabolomics on longitudinal paired plasma samples from 15 DM patients who developed DR during 1-2 years. Differential expression, pathway enrichment, and protein-metabolite correlation analyses were performed. Key proteins were validated by ELISA in an independent cohort of 22 DM patients without DR and 22 NPDR patients, and their predictive performance for DR progression was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results: Proteomic analysis identified 57 differentially expressed proteins enriched in energy metabolism, detoxification, and cellular defense responses. Metabolomic profiling revealed 168 differential metabolites, primarily involved in taurine and hypotaurine metabolism, neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, and tyrosine metabolism. Integrated proteomic-metabolomic analysis revealed significant correlations between proteins and metabolites. Eight candidate proteins were validated by ELISA, including three previously reported in DR (Annexin A1 (ANXA1), Glutathione Peroxidase 1 (GPX1), Glutathione S-transferase Mu 1 (GSTM1)) and five newly identified candidates (Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 18 family member A1 (ALDH18A1), Galactose-1-Phosphate Uridylyltransferase (GALT), Proteoglycan 2 (PRG2), Ubiquitin-activating Enzyme E1 (UBA1), Glucagon (GCG)). ROC analysis demonstrated strong discriminative performance for these proteins, with area under the curve (AUC) values ranging from 0.853 to 0.945. Conclusions: Our study reveals coordinated alterations in plasma proteins and metabolites during the progression from DM to DR. Integrated multi-omics analysis identified five novel candidate biomarkers, which may serve as potential targets for early detection and risk stratification of DR.

Indexed as

Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2Diabetic RetinopathyMetabolomeMetabolomicsProteomicsAgedBiomarkersDisease ProgressionFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedBiomarkersdiabetic retinopathymetabolomicsmulti-omicsproteomicsrisk stratification

Identifiers

PMID42358678
PMCPMC13290453

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.